Keeping Secrets (13 page)

“He’s recovering nicely,” Mrs. Parker said. She glanced over her shoulder into the parlor before she
asked, “Won’t you come in? How about tea and a muffin or two?”

“Thank you,” Peg said, hoping she didn’t look as guilty as she felt. She trotted up the steps to the front porch and submitted to Mrs. Parker’s energetic hug, but Danny edged around Mrs. Parker at a safe distance as he entered the house.

Mrs. Parker led them past the parlor, which was empty, except for the furniture the Millers had left behind. “Come into the kitchen. It’s warmer, and you’ll find Violet there.”

Peg thought she heard the back door close as they approached, but Miss Hennessey sat alone at the worn wooden table, gazing at them over her teacup, as though nothing could possibly disrupt her quiet, lazy morning.

“They came to ask about Louis,” Mrs. Parker said. “Isn’t that thoughtful?”

Miss Hennessey beamed affectionately at Peg, then turned her smile on Danny. “Sit down, please,” she said. “Nellie has baked the most delicious muffins.”

Neither Peg nor Danny had to be asked twice. The muffins were delicious, although Peg nearly choked on hers as Danny bluntly asked, “May we see Mr. Parker?”

“He’ll be joining us soon,” Miss Hennessey said. “He’s recovering nicely and the fever is completely gone.”

“I’m glad,” Peg said. “You were so sad and so worried about him.”

“Worried about me?” Mr. Parker came into the room and sat at the table with the others. He wore a loose, collarless shirt that fit snugly over the bulge of a bandage around his upper right arm. “There was no need to worry. I come from hardy stock.” He smiled at
Danny. “You must be Miss Kelly’s brother. I’ve heard many fine things about you.”

Danny automatically reached out a hand, and looked embarrassed when Mr. Parker extended his left hand, instead of his right. “I’m sorry you were shot,” Danny said.

Peg winced as he added, “Peg didn’t know the whole story of what happened to you, and if you don’t mind, sir, I’d like to hear it, too.”

“There’s not much to tell,” Mr. Parker answered. “I had ridden south to Butler and had planned to go even farther to see someone about purchasing some livestock.”

“That’s quite a ways to go for livestock,” Danny interrupted.

“The owner’s a friend. He offered me a good price.”

Livestock?
Peg wondered.
When their stay here is supposed to be a temporary one?

Mr. Parker went on as though Danny’s statement was of no importance, but Peg could sense a tension in the room. Both Mrs. Parker and Miss Hennessey were listening intently.

“I had no warning. I was riding through some pretty desolate countryside when I heard the crack of a rifle, and the bullet slammed into my arm.”

“Who shot you? Did you see them?”

“It was just one man. I was so startled I took time to turn to look, and there he was, riding toward me from a grove of trees.”

“Oh!” Peg cried and squeezed her fingers together, vividly imagining the pain and the fear that Mr. Parker must have known.

“My horse is both sturdy and fast so, fortunately, I was able to outrun my attacker. I found help at a farm
near Butler, and after my wound was cleaned and bandaged I rode on home.”

“Alone?”

“Alone.”

From the corners of her eyes Peg saw Danny turn to look at her, but she refused to meet his glance.

Mr. Parker looked from Danny to Peg, then added, “As I said, I was alone, except that as I approached River Road I met an acquaintance who saw the plight I was in and accompanied me to the house.”

This time Peg, with a flash of triumph, did meet Danny’s eyes. That certainly explained what he had seen, and should have ended his suspicions once and for all.

But Danny didn’t give up. “Weren’t you afraid of running into Quantrill?” he asked. “He and his raiders were in those parts.”

Mrs. Parker broke in. “Everyone’s afraid of Quantrill.”

Peg was startled at the deep sorrow in her eyes. It was a mirror of Miss Hennessey’s expression, and she was puzzled. Here was Louis Parker, safe and sound, with his wound healing well. Shouldn’t that make them happy?

Mrs. Parker got to her feet. “I’m going to wrap up some of these muffins for you to take to Mrs. Swenson,” she said. “Louis needs to rest, although I know he enjoyed your visit. We all did.”

She left no doubt they were being dismissed, so Peg and Danny rose, too, accepted the muffins with thanks, and wished Mr. Parker a complete and successful recovery.

As they climbed on Flash’s back, Peg couldn’t resist whispering, “Mr. Parker
was
telling the truth! See how wrong you were?”

“I see things you don’t see,” Danny retorted.

“Like what?”

He waited until they had left the Parkers’ house behind and were back on River Road before he answered. “Like the horse.”

“What horse?”

“The horse that was tied to the hitching post when we arrived.”

“Oh,” Peg said, surprised. “I forgot about the horse.”

“Didn’t you hear the back door close before we entered the kitchen? Someone left the house in a hurry when we arrived—someone who didn’t want us to know he was there.”

Peg took a deep breath. She could hear the determination in her voice as she said, “Then we haven’t a choice. Somehow we’ll need to find out who he was and why he was there.”

12
 

J
UST AS
P
EG
had expected, Ennie was greatly displeased about Danny’s escape from his bed and from his mustard plaster. She quickly stirred together a mixture for a new poultice, wrapped it in cheesecloth, and pinned it to a clean nightshirt, warning him of dire consequences if he were to leave his bed again without permission.

“But we wanted to give Mr. Parker our regards,” Danny said, then tried to smother a cough.

“I’ve already done that,” Ennie informed him, “and brought the poor man some soup, besides.”

Does everyone send soup to sick people?
Peg wondered.
Does it really make them feel better?

“We even brought you some of Mrs. Parker’s muffins,” Danny said.

“I can do without the muffins, thank you,” Ennie
told him. “They’re a little heavy, but then Mrs. Parker doesn’t have my light hand with batter nor my special receipt.”

Danny gave in. “I’m sorry I disobeyed you,” he said.

“And well you might be,” Ennie told him. She placed a hand on his forehead. “You seem a mite feverish. I’ll give you a dose of tonic.”

“Not tonic, please! It’s nasty-tasting stuff!”

Danny grimaced as Ennie poured a dark, clear liquid into a large spoon and held it out, making sure Danny swallowed every drop. Peg tried not to giggle at the miserable faces he was making. She had warned Danny that Ennie would be upset, and she’d been right.

Ennie kept a sharp eye on both Danny and Peg, but she did allow Peg to play draughts with Danny, read to him, and carry up countless cups of a honey and lemon juice mixture, thinned with strong tea.

She hovered so closely that Danny was unable to say any more to Peg about the Parkers until it was almost time for Peg to leave.

“Find out what you can about who that was in the Parkers’ house,” he whispered.

Peg sighed, wishing her visits to Danny could be uncomplicated, with no stupid suspicions to worry about. “Most likely, he was just a neighbor stopping by,” she said.

“Ask.”

“What if Miss Hennessey won’t tell me?”

“Then find out some other way.”

“How?”

Exasperated, Danny grumbled, “Stop acting so stubborn. You can be a snoop when you want to be, so figure out a plan yourself. In the meantime I’ll keep an eye on the Parkers’ house.”

“Ennie won’t let you. She’ll make you stay in bed until you’re better.”

“Never fear, I’ll be better soon. You and I, Peg—we’ll do what we can to help our country win this war.”

Frantic with the hopelessness of the task, Peg snapped, “Winning the war is a job for generals. You’re only thirteen, and I’m eleven. How much can we do to help the Union?”

“Whatever we can. We’re Kellys,” he said, “and Kellys don’t give up. Think of Mike and what he tried to do.”

“Miss Hennessey is my friend,” she complained. “I can’t believe she’s doing something to hurt the Union.”

“Then prove me wrong.”

“All right, Danny Kelly! You’ll see! I will!”

“And don’t look so scared,” he called as she left his room. “You’ll give yourself away.”

“Oh, shut up, Danny! I am not scared!”

But she was. She was terrified of what she might find out. Peg tried to push away the questions she’d had about Miss Hennessey, but they wouldn’t leave and kept darting into her thoughts like biting, stinging insects.

As Peg reluctantly dragged down the stairs, her carpetbag bumping against her legs, she thought of Mike’s and Frances Mary’s bravery, which Miss Hennessey had pointed out. And she thought about Megan—shy, quiet Megan—who had fought off wolves and an armed robber in order to protect her family.

And Danny, himself, who had stood up against bushwhackers who had tried to destroy the farm and take his life.

I want to be brave like Frances and Megan and Mike and Danny
, Peg told herself.
Frances was
scared. She told us so. And Megan, too. But they did what they had to do, and I can, too.

Determined, she clumped down the last two stairs, hugged Ennie and Alfrid, and ran outside to climb into Miss Hennessey’s buggy.

As they reached the road that would take them home, Peg sat up as straight as she could and said, “I’m glad that Mr. Parker is feeling better.”

“Thank you,” Miss Hennessey said.

“I hope you didn’t mind that Danny and I paid your family a visit.”

“On the contrary. You were very gracious to do so.”

Peg realized she was fidgeting and clasped her hands tightly together. “Did we come when we shouldn’t have? I guess we surprised you.”

Miss Hennessey quickly turned toward Peg. “Why do you say that?”

Peg took a deep, shaky breath. “Because someone was at the house. He left when we got there.”

“Oh? What makes you think so?”

“There was a gray spotted horse tied to the hitching post when Danny and I rode up. When we came back outside the horse was gone.”

For a moment Miss Hennessey was silent. Then she said, “As I recall, one of Louis’s neighbors had come by to talk to him.”

“You didn’t see the neighbor?”

Miss Hennessey’s eyes bore into Peg’s. “Did you?”

Peg shook her head, wondering what to ask next.

Miss Hennessey quietly asked, “Does it really matter, Peg?”

“I don’t know,” Peg answered truthfully. How far could she go in what she told Miss Hennessey? Maybe there was a better way to find out about the Parkers’
visitor. She’d give it more thought and not continue blundering along with questions that led nowhere.

Peg glanced down a nearby hill, aware that the luster of the red-gold leaves was fading. Shivering even though her coat was warm, she said, “Winter is coming quickly. There’s a real chill in the air.”

“There is indeed,” Miss Hennessey answered. She began to talk about the heavy snows of the previous winter and how they caused such terrible problems to soldiers in the field, who often were lacking protective clothing, such as shoes and coats.

Although Peg was frustrated that Miss Hennessey hadn’t given her straightforward answers, she felt a tiny glimmer of relief that she didn’t have to face problems too large right now to handle.
Please, please, please!
Peg agonized.
What will I do if Miss Hennessey and her relatives are Confederate spies!

The ride home was uneventful, with not even a Union patrol in sight. But when Peg and Miss Hennessey arrived in St. Joseph they discovered that all that was left of the town’s newspaper building was blackened rubble and the stench of burnt, wet wood.

Miss Hennessey leaned from the buggy to ask a man standing nearby, “What happened?”

The man pulled off his cap and looked both ways before he answered. “This is all on account of Colonel John Williams.”

“The Commander of the St. Joseph Military District?”

“That’s him. He didn’t like some of the articles in the
Gazette.
Said they were inflammatory. So he sent a military squad to talk to the editor, and a mob formed and followed along. When the editor saw them coming, he jumped on his horse and got the sam hill out of
here. Just in time, because the mob destroyed the presses and burned down the building.”

Miss Hennessey flicked the reins, urging the horse on, until they arrived at Peg’s house.

Peg thought of John enjoying every word in his newspaper. Now St. Joseph didn’t have a newspaper. “Why did they do that?” she mourned.

Although Peg didn’t expect an answer, Miss Hennessey said, “It’s true that the editor wrote some inflammatory articles about the military control of Missouri.”

“But he wasn’t a southern sympathizer!”

“Let’s get inside,” Miss Hennessey said. “It’s growing colder by the minute.”

Ma was full of questions, but the talk kept bouncing from Danny’s welfare and the state of Louis Parker’s health to the carnage of
The St. Joseph Gazette.